Electric or Nitro?

[Staks]

I'm an absolute beginner here, so please don't laugh at the question :)

I'm looking at purchasing a chopper and im not sure the advantages or disadvantages of electric vs nitro. Can someone please explain it to me? What do the common Raptor 50's or T-Rex's come with? Or do you have the option of either?

Thanks :)

[Bayou Talker]

You pretty much have the option of both from most of the heli manufacturers. As far as which one to choose is a matter of opinion. Some will tell you nitro and some will tell you electric and many will be like me and have both. They both have their advantages and disadvantages. If you search here on the forums, you will find many discussions on the subject. There is no clear answer, it is just personal preference.

I would suggest that you find some heli pilots near you that are willing to help you get started and get their suggestions. If you fly what they fly they will be able to help you better.

Good Luck

[JCP SR]

I am just starting out as you are, the first thing would be a SIM then I would have to suggest the TREX 450 as a starting out point. It has a lower startup cost and from many forums is a very strong performer. I do believe that once I have that down and feel comfortable, I will move to a nitro due to the longer flight times ( and I love the smell of nitro in the morning :D ). there will be many things that you must think of prior to purchase. Where am I going to fly, how much can I afford to spend to fix my crash(s), and do plent of research prior to purchase and dont sink your money into a CPP and then wish you had read more on the subject.

[BarracudaHockey]

Electric pros: No clean up, no noise so you can fly in a wider range of areas, excellent performance.
Cons: Cost of chargers and batteries, needing 3 or 4 batteries to fly/cool/charge a few times, excellent power diminishes as flight goes on.

Nitros: Initially cheaper due to lipo cost with electrics. Same power for the entire flight, fuel and fly as long as your reciever battery is good for, longer flight times.
Cons: noisy, clean up, more support equipment to lug around, ongoing fuel cost.

[Staks]

I am just starting out as you are, the first thing would be a SIM then I would have to suggest the TREX 450 as a starting out point. It has a lower startup cost and from many forums is a very strong performer. I do believe that once I have that down and feel comfortable, I will move to a nitro due to the longer flight times ( and I love the smell of nitro in the morning :D ). there will be many things that you must think of prior to purchase. Where am I going to fly, how much can I afford to spend to fix my crash(s), and do plent of research prior to purchase and dont sink your money into a CPP and then wish you had read more on the subject.

Wouldn't the TREX 450 have higher startup costs due to having to purchase batteries and chargers?

[Bayou Talker]

With an electric you are just buying a year's worth of fuel up front.

As for the start up costs, when you add electric starter, fuel jug, fuel pump, glow driver, etc for the nitro it is about a toss up with buying a good charger.

The only advantage to nitro is that you can buy a smaller quantity of fuel to start but it is a continuing expense. Batteries are expensive up front but if taken care of will last for a long time.

[JCP SR]

Wouldn't the TREX 450 have higher startup costs due to having to purchase batteries and chargers?

the cost for a TREX 450 V2 from the ground up is about $1000.00, and that is buying very good equipment. as for nitro it is around $1500.00 now I did not do the research for nitro that info has come from this site. as far as the 450 I have done alot on that.

[Bayou Talker]

For a good 50 nitro you can get started for about the same as a well equipped TRex 450. Here is a link to a combo at HeliProz for a Hyper Raptor 50 with engine , metal head, blades and other upgrades. Add 4 servos, gyro w/servo and a receiver and you are ready to go with a loaded machine for about $1200. For a basic kit it would be a bit cheaper so it would be about the same as a TRex 450.

http://www.heliproz.com/prodinfo.asp?number=101450HYPER

This is just an example. A little shopping and you could save a bit more.

[kgfly]

You will get many opinions on this one, there is no right answer. Up front I admit I am biased to electric.

Electric or Nitro is also a lifestyle choice. Electric is cleaner and quieter. Nitro is messy and noisy. If you have to keep all your gear in the house, transport it in a regular family car and don't live anywhere near a flying field then electric is the best option. If you have a shed/garage/workshop, pickup truck/wagon/van and a large, isolated, open space to fly, nitro is a viable option. There is also a time factor. I am time poor. With electric I can throw the heli, Tx and 3 batts in the car, go to the park, fly and be back in half an hour. Or fly near work at lunchtime, or on the way home. With nitro you have to take all the startup/cleanup gear and spend time fueling and cleaning. There is more overhead for a quick jaunt and typically fewer options of flying site.

Nitro has the advantage that you don't risk destroying 100 flights worth of fuel in a crash. That is a risk with electric, if you damage you lipo in a crash at a minimum its performance or lifetime will be reduced and at worst it will be a right off. LiPos are also a fire hazard and must be supervised during charging. If you have three batteries and one charger then you are typically looking at four hours of baby sitting batteries each time around. You can get around this by having more chargers, which is relatively cheap for the small batteries used in 450-size eHelis but gets progressively more expensive as you go to larger eHelis. For a nitro you still have batteries to charge (Tx and Rx packs) but they are typically NiCd or NiMH and can be left to charge overnight with very little risk.

If you like fiddling with nitro motors that's cool. If you don't electric is nice since there is no tuning/fiddling and little or no motor maintenance. Vibrations are typically less on electric leading to fewer vibration-related problems and failures. You also don't get fuel/oil/exhaust/cleaning fluid spread across various bits of the heli so don't have the same risks/issues. For example you can paint an eHeli canopy with almost anything you like but for nitro you must use a fuel-proof technique, most of which are harder/more expensive.

So decide where you want to be able to fly first since that is a major make it/break it issue. Then find a local heli club and go see both nitro and electric birds and see what gets you going.